Gas explosion: Prosper Bani calls for special training for Journalists in covering disasters

The former Interior Minister under former President John Mahama, Mr. Prosper Bani has called for a special training for journalists in covering both natural and humanly orchestrated disasters.

Speaking in an interview with Ghanacrusader.com the onetime Chief of Staff to President Mahama stated emphatically that covering a disaster as a journalist requires special skills and experiences to get full coverage without putting his life at risk.

His comments come in the wake the death of a Journalist with Net 2 TV on Saturday October 6th whiles covering the gas explosion at the atomic Junction near Madina.

He described the journalist as a brave person who is committed to duty even at the peril of his life but stated that the deceased should have taken more precautionary measures.

Prosper Bani who is an expert on Crisis Prevention, Management and Recovery said, ‘’I think that media profession has lost someone who is brave and committed to duty, reporting even as they happen through the camera.’’

He added that a special team of media practitioners should be trained specially in the coverage of disasters such as fire outbreaks to prevent further loss of life in the midst of natural or manmade disasters.

‘’Now going forward I think that giving such circumstances of crises and disasters we need to put together a core of media personnel who are trained to report on such incidents, for example all aspects of natural disasters be it fire, flood, earthquake and any other natural disaster that may occur or manmade disaster as in the case of violent conflict and other humanely instigated crises.’’

Mohammed Ashley Yakubu, a cameraman with Net2 TV based in Accra lost his life while covering a gas explosion at the Atomic Junction.

The death of Mohammed came as a shock to the staff of Net 2 TV and Oman FM, the subsidiaries of Kencity Media Limited on Monday.

He was the station’s cameraman at the Flagstaff House, the seat of Government.

Late Mohammed Ashley who has been working with Kencity Media for several years allegedly fell from the Atomic junction flyover while filming the gas explosion that occurred last Saturday, 6th October, 2017.



He has since been laid to rest.

A total of seven people perished, whereas 132 others sustained various degrees of injury.